Power giant E.ON is raising electricity prices 9% and and gas 3% from next month, adding 16p a day to its dual fuel customers it says.

The company blamed a 35% rise in wholesale energy prices since last Spring.

Managing director Graham Bartlett said: 'It's been over two years since we last increased our prices, and, unlike other companies, we held off from increasing them during the incredibly cold temperatures we saw in late November and December.

Heating up: More than 4million customers will see a rise in their bill

'But we now have no option but to make this change due to increases
in the prices we pay for gas and electricity, although our customers
won't actually see the increases until next month.'

E.ON said more than one in five of its 5.3million customers would
not be affected by today's announcement, which follows a string of
price hikes by leading energy companies in recent weeks.

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The latest firm to announce price increases was npower, which said
last month that household gas and electricity bills will rise by an
average of 5%.

Richard Hall, energy expert at Consumer Focus, said: 'E.ON's
customers will, sadly, not be shocked that it has followed in the
footsteps of other suppliers' price increases.

'However, the fact that these rises aren't unexpected won't make it
any easier for cash-strapped consumers to afford their higher bills.
Consumers simply don't trust that suppliers are asking them to pay a
fair price for their energy.

'With high prices, a complex market, and consumers being asked to
pay billions of pounds to improve our energy supply, it is essential
that confidence in energy prices is improved. Ofgem's review of the
market needs to meet these high expectations.'

The consumer group said the Government should embrace new EU
legislation which will soon offer the regulator Ofgem the opportunity
to force the big six energy suppliers to disclose the price they pay
for energy.

All companies should also be required to produce accounts which credibly break down their profits and margin, the group added.